1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a license management apparatus, a license management system and a license management method for managing licenses for the use of plural operation execution units such as multifunction printing apparatuses.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, a system in which plural operation function executing units such as multifunction type printing apparatuses, which can be used as, for example, a facsimile and a copying machine, and user's terminals are connected via a network, is known. In this system, it is also known that the control of the printing apparatuses by software can be performed from the user's terminals by supplying licenses thereto.
For example, Japanese Unexamined Laid-open Patent Publication H11-24918 discloses techniques for integrally controlling the number of software licenses for user's terminals so that a server checks the number of software licenses when the user activates the software from his/her terminal and determines whether the software is to be activated.
Furthermore, Japanese Unexamined Laid-open Patent Publication H10-11043 discloses techniques in which a server checks the number of licenses currently available when a personal computer requests a license for downloading fonts, and allows downloading of the fonts to the user's terminal by transmitting a download permit signal to a download apparatus if available.
Now, in the aforementioned system in which plural multifunction type printing apparatuses or the like and user's terminals are connected via a network, one of the functions of the printing apparatuses, e.g., a printing function, may be used frequently by users, but another function, e.g., a facsimile function, may seldom be used.
According to the aforementioned conventional license supply techniques, since a package license is given to all of the controllable functions of the printing apparatuses including a facsimile function, a copying function and a printer function, license fee differentiation based on the frequency of use cannot be realized. Accordingly, there is a drawback that a user has to incur a wasteful financial burden for the license purchase.
Furthermore, in conventionally known techniques, software for controlling multifunction type printing apparatuses is managed with package licenses, and therefore the use of each function to be executed by the software cannot be restricted. Accordingly, for example, in image processing software, if both the “print” function and the “edit and print” function can be executed, the number of users corresponding to the number of licenses can use both the functions, i.e., the “print” function and the “edit and print” function.
Although a printout time will not be affected even if many users use the “print” function simultaneously, if many users perform the “edit and print” function simultaneously, since it takes a time to edit, these jobs will tend to accumulate in the printing apparatus. In this case, there is a drawback that jobs executed later tend to take more time to be printed.